5 Weeks Past the Cross (That One Thing)

The Bible Study that took me over a year to complete was, without question, with a single focus in mind: Finding Yeshua (Jesus) in the Tanakh (Old Testament). The longer I pursued Torah (The Father’s Instructions/Law) the more I came to understand that it was the litmus test for all doctrine to follow. The end has been since the beginning. If there were a Messiah (Anointed One) who would atone for my sin, I knew I would be able to find him in Tanakh. In my own spiritual immaturity, I thought that if I couldn’t find him there, one thing would change in my life. I wouldn’t consider Yeshua my Savior. Turns out, that one thing I’ll have to change about how I think is… Everything!

*Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
(Amos 3 KJV)
*For the Master יהוה does no matter unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
(Amos 3 ISR)

This side of the cross, I’m finding out, will bring changes to all of my core beliefs, not just my belief about how I can approach The Father. I find it interesting that the first time I read the Scriptures myself, at age 40, I wondered why every believer wasn’t Jewish. But in order to fit Yeshua in as “Savior”, one has to read Tanakh looking to have it foreshadow the newer writings, instead of holding the newer in comparison to the original, Tanakh, to determine their authenticity. The best way to spot a counterfeit is to know the original up close and personal! This is my heart’s desire, to know The Father’s heart.

*Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously. (Psalms 119 KJV)
*Remove from me the way of falsehood, And favour me with Your Torah. (Psalms 119 ISR)

The first thing that touches me here on this side of the cross is how much bigger my God is than I had thought. When all glory is aimed straight at Him, along with all honor and praise, it is so apparent that The Father doesn’t fit into any box! Who was I to assume anything about Him? Who was I to think that I had any authority whatsoever? All authority belongs to Him! Who was I that I credited another for all of the things The Father says belong to Him? I magnify Him now so much more; in prayer, in speech and in my actions.

*I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. (Ezekiel 34 KJV)
“I shall seek out the lost and bring back the strayed. And I shall bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick, but the fat and the strong I shall destroy. I shall feed them with right-ruling.
(Ezekiel 34 ISR)

The concept of Heaven and hell is handled differently in the Tanakh than in the newer writings, too. Zechariah and Revelation each give very different glimpses of the Kingdom to come! They are not even close in description. Hell is rarely discussed in the Tanakh, only mentioned a few times. Hell is mentioned over an hundred times in the new writings, usually to magnify our need of a “Savior”. Funny, even the word ‘Savior’ is used differently in the Tanakh! There it is used to mark “saving” in the physical sense, not in the “immortal soul” sense like in the newer writings. I have only scratched the surface of this subject, I know. There is so much more for me to learn!

*With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. (Psalms 91 KJV)
*With long life I satisfy him, And show him My deliverance.” (Psalms 91 ISR)

*And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day… (Exodus 14 KJV)
*And Mosheh said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the deliverance of יהוה, which He does for you today. (Exodus 14 ISR)

No concept of “original sin” can be found in Tanakh. Only man’s capability to make a choice between walking in The Father’s Way or serving his own selfish desires. Here on this side of the cross, the devil isn’t blamed for everything that tempts us. Without having temptations, trials and tragedies, walking in God’s Way wouldn’t be a choice we have to make. In gardening and in strength training, it is the stress that can strengthen! Understanding this, we see that even evil can serve a greater purpose.

*That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. (Isaiah 45 KJV)
*…so that they know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none but Me. I am יהוה, and there is none else, forming light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil. I, יהוה, do all these.’ (Isaiah 45: ISR)

For so long, I felt like I was failing at “The Great Commission”. I didn’t feel led to convince anyone that they needed Yeshua. I knew that in my own life, I didn’t believe until I had my own experience with my God. It made sense to me that an all-powerful, all-perfect God would call whom He would call, and He would reveal what He would reveal to whom He would reveal it. On this side of the cross, I can see that I wasn’t failing at all…Whew! In Tanakh, we aren’t told to “believe on” anyone, or to tell others to do so. When The Father wanted something said, a warning, truth or prophecy, He announced it through His Prophets, or He sent a messenger of His to the person to whom He was doing the revealing. In Tanakh, when a man chose to follow The Father, a sharp “tool” was used to perform a circumcision. Not a big selling point, I would think, for the Synagogue! Even today, converting to Judaism is a lengthly process, and not easy to do. The Jewish community is very welcoming and warm to those of us who have seen the truth of YHWH’s Torah, but they are not going door to door inviting anyone to say the “Sinner’s Prayer” for entry into The Kingdom. I am not making disciples here, I am reflecting the Light that comes from The Father. That is my purpose.

*I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; (Isaiah 42 KJV)
*I, יהוה, have called You in righteousness, and I take hold of Your hand and guard You, and give You for a covenant to a people, for a light to the gentiles, (Isaiah 42 ISR)

And so another week has passed with no regrets and no second-guessing my decision to step away from the cross, and all that is represented in Christianity. Because I will be relearning that one thing, everything, I have come up with a plan of action for study. While staying current in Torah “portions”, I am also rereading the portions for the weeks prior to my decision…minus the Yeshua glasses. I also catch at least one teaching a day from a Rabbi’s perspective that covers any of the areas I have mentioned in this article. I have decided not to spend too much time on teachings that disprove Yeshua as “The” end-times Messiah, or the atonement for my sin debt. The way I figure, I have already given Yeshua ten years of my attention that should have been given to my true Redeemer, YHWH. That is where my eyes will be fixed from now on! On The Father! Until I have a better understanding of the origins for the new writings, I will not spend any time in them at all, except for comparison.